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OR: A loud argument is not a DV call, and the warrantless entry was invalid

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

A mere loud argument in a motel room that the police were called to was not sufficient to justify a warrantless entry into the room. State v. Fredricks, 2010 Ore. App. LEXIS 1293 (November 3, 2010): Here, the evidence in the record shows only that Walker overheard a loud argument that, in his words, was “not deescalating.” The record does not contain any other objective indicia of a “potential victim of a dangerous circumstance or a potential perpetrator of a dangerous act.” Id. Where police overhear a loud argument, unaccompanied by any sounds of “physical struggle or an indication that an act of violence ha[s] occured,” a warrantless entry into a defendant’s residence is not authorized by the emergency aid doctrine...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on November 09, 2010 (boomark / email).